Our Every Day

The other day I attended a training summit for MOPS International. One of the speakers (can't remember her name off hand) talked about how social media allows us to put what we want to put online. (Something I have addressed on this blog before.) She encouraged us - as moms at MOPS - to share our stories with each other. Part of me gets nervous about that as there are elements of my story that I don't want to share - things that are painful and private. I don't know that I will ever share that part of my story - but I CAN share one thing about me that you might not know. So I thought I would give this an old college try and test the waters here on my blog, because WHY NOT. Okay here goes. My secret shame is my obsession in purchasing wrapping paper. Okay not really. Yes. I do have an obsession of purchasing wrapping paper.  But only the $1 rolls from Target. So many pretty colors and each roll contains SO MUCH paper. What a steal! Ahem. I have a TEMPER. It is ...

Grayson turns 5 months this week. I know I have said in the past that these have been the fastest and slowest days of my life. I think I need to amend my statement...now that we are past the newborn stage, the days and weeks have stopped being slow and started to pick up speed. I guess we are experiencing what all parents have told us about - that times goes by much too fast. It has been a big month for our Grayson. He has traveled to Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He became the oldest cousin on Mike's side of the family, instead of being the only grandchild. He met many great aunts, great uncles, second cousins and his great-grandparents on my side of the family. He gets dedicated at church this coming Sunday too. A few things about this month: - He reaches for EVERYTHING. You have a glass in your hand? He's got to have it. You are trying to eat with him on your lap? Nearly impossible. The other night my aunt was holding him, and he reached for me - whic...

I know, I know. I've fallen off the radar as far as blogging goes. But any extra time I have had in the last couple of weeks has been devoted to other things...like grabbing a quick nap, spending time with Mike or actually getting to dry my hair (a luxury any more!) Believe it or not, but it often takes me several days to compose a post. I work on it probably 5 minutes at a time - sometimes more if Grayson is contentedly laying in his crib, gnawing away on his favorite teething toy - a giraffe - that makes an appearance several times in this post! ;) Mike and I hosted Easter dinner for our parents the Thursday after dinner. (Oh the life of a LEO family!) I love love love my Fiestaware (this is only a third of the plates I own...I have nearly every color.) I came home from the store one day to find Grayson helping Grandma sweep. I follow Jon Acuff (author of the blog Stuff Christians Like) on Instagram.  He is HILARIOUS.   The little vignette I created on ...

I took a week break from Instagram, so I opted out of posting for Insta-Friday last week. This week though I'm back and I have some cute pics...so read on :) Grayson had his 4 month appointment the other day!  He clearly didn't want to be in this picture. Mike was saying, "Take the picture quick before our baby rolls off the table!"  No babies were harmed in the taking of this picture!  I hadn't gotten a chance to organize the closet since we moved in. So I took the time the other day. This is pretty much ALL the clothes I own. Isn't it pathetic? And this includes my maternity clothes and my wedding dress. I won't even show you Mike's side of the closet. I have a quarter of the clothes he does. Speaking of clothes, Mike dressed Gray up as a hunter the other night! Which is weird because neither of us hunt. Oh well. It was cute anyway! This is a very long story. I'll spare you. Fortunately no one was injured, and the win...

A year ago this week, I got some of the best and most shocking news of my life...I was pregnant! (If you haven't heard the story, you can read about it  here . Don't worry.  There is nothing too TMI about it! I know some of you are...sensitive...when it comes to all things pregnancy.) On that day, I don't think either Mike or I really knew just how much change this wonderful news would continue to bring over the next 38 weeks and beyond. As I approach this one-year mark, I have been reflecting on my pregnancy quite a bit. I thought I might write down some of my lessons learned, observations, etc.  WARNING: This is probably my longest post to date.  - I will never forget the first time I saw Grayson's tiny little form via ultrasound. Or heard his crazy fast heartbeat. After my first doctor's appointment, I had to go back to work. Just so happened it was also on my 30th birthday. It was so much fun to share the ultrasound pictures with my coworkers, ...

On Monday, Grayson will be 4 months old! I was telling a friend last night at dinner that I can't really remember life without him. Over the past month, we have seen more changes in him than in any other month - so far anyway. Who knows what next month will hold. :) He'll be going to the doctor on Wednesday for his four month check up and his second round of vaccines. (Not looking forward to that so much.) He had a crazy growth spurt at 12 weeks...I kept thinking it would only last a few days - it ended up being a solid week of crying and almost constant eating - oh and for Grayson too! ;)  I am guessing he gained a few pounds and at least two inches. We'll see if I am correct in my prediction! Mike and I have always said that we could tell Grayson's personality the day he was born. But now we are starting to see it bloom, and he is one very chill little baby. Or LB as Mike calls him. Over the past month, Grayson has... - Started to laugh. A LOT. He especi...

Lately I have been dealing with comparing myself and what I have to others. It's not been pretty. I think it is safe to say that I have fallen into discontent. It's crazy, right? I have an awesome life. I have an amazing, hard-working husband, a sweet adorable little son, a beautiful house and the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. So what on earth am I jealous of other people for?? Gosh. Where do I even begin? I feel like every day I am inundated with images on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and the blogosphere of beautiful women with seemingly perfect lives. At least that is how they appear to me. In every perfectly framed picture, with every perfectly styled tress, with perfectly applied flawless makeup, they appear happy. Without a care. They wear trendy outfits with no spit-up-stains. None. What's that like?! I can't even remember. Now the rational Erin....I know that everyone is fighting some sort of a battle. But these pictures make it appear as thou...